So....we eat meat and grew up on a pseudo-farms with off and on animal raising adventures, FFA projects and the like. Today we have chickens for eggs and this summer we tried out a chicken tractor project, raising a "Fry Pan Special". I don't care for moving the tractor (a pen) around so we are going to reconsider the setup but the coop did very well. We raised a mix of chicken breeds, called dual purpose for eggs and meat, and ended up with mostly roosters. This is the end of project, time to do the deed. I googled it and found this lovely site and blog, which I think I will have to start following!
http://girlsguidetobutter.com/
http://girlsguidetobutter.com/2010/08/chicken-butchering-101/
We have some learning to do yet, our technique is somewhat lacking, but I am ready to get some more. We buy from Estes hatchery and this time I am going to try the Cornish Cross, a mix breed that grows fast and big, not engineered or GMO really just a hybrid of two breeds that grows fast but is not viable for long term, kinda weird and maybe a bad idea but I want to try it.
How about you? Would you raise your own food, do you already, or is this a story of torture to you?
